Dead Moon Circus
by Thoughtful Tikal
Summary: "Surely this magical mirror of hers wasn't lying, so Nehelenia developed a scheme to alter her future events: she would develop a circus, and not just with usual skilled performers, but the persistent Queen had other characters in mind..."
1. Chapter 1

**This idea kept entering my mind, so here it is typed out. Enjoy! The lyrics from Mermaid Melody aren't owned by me. I give thanks to the creator of this anime and song, and to the other three animes that are included.  
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**_-Dead Moon Circus Episode One-_**

**_The Worst Trick Ever! From Curses to Performances!_**

When speaking of those who know how to juggle multiple items and ride perfectly on unicycles, the word that's being looked for is circus. When mentioning a place that makes the expressions of every child and even adult smile, what's being addressed is a circus.

And so for hundreds of years, this concept has been created and used for many reasons: fame, excitement, entertainment... and most of all for cash. Too many people don't pay mind to these factors; rather they just visit circuses for the pleasure, and to see what the different performers are capable of.

However, aside from all of those lower class individuals, there's one woman who receives all of a circus's factors, and she's willing to do anything in order to keep it that way. Her name is Queen Nehelenia, ruler of the Dead Moon Kingdom.

One day, as she gazed upon her ravishing reflection in her body-length mirror, a hideous version of Nehelenia appeared, and told the Queen that later on in life her fame and wealth would vanish. This greatly took a toll on Nehelenia. She could feel her heart almost stop; and she became completely horrified of not carrying money or popularity.

Surely this magical mirror of hers wasn't lying, so Nehelenia developed a scheme to alter her future events: she would develop a circus, and not just with usual skilled performers, but the persistent Queen had other characters in mind.

With the help of her royal servants, otherwise known as the Amazon Trio, she ordered these minions to travel through different universes and find people who carried 'unique' talents.

When all was completed, Nehelenia ended up with only few for her circus team. But still the captives' talents would be capable of amazing her people.

A girl who was kidnapped from her two loyal best mermaid friends; another snatched from the midst of her peaceful island home; and lastly, a young man who managed to put up a good fight with his sword, but still ended up taken from his feudal home.

But this story shouldn't get too far ahead of itself. As there was one more character Nehelenia's servants stumped upon and brought back.

Being dragged into the circus's backroom by the hands of Hawkseye and Tigerseye, was a male teenager clothed in a red-sleeved oriental shirt with white cuffs at each sleeve, indigo pants, and black shoes. His hair was sooty but tied up to form a nice pigtail, and his eyes were navy blue. His name was Ranma Saotome.

This Ranma Saotome despised every bit of how he let himself get captured by three idiots who appeared easy to beat, then brought to a strange circus tent that resided in a completely different universe. The minute he learned of his whereabouts, he was going to escape.

"Let go of me, you weirdos!" Ranma yanked and tugged at Hawkseye and Tigerseye to release him.

Without responding, the Amazon men gave smirks brought Ranma to a dimly-lit room and threw him inside of a barred cage, watching him land against it's floor.

"Believe me, kid. You wouldn't wanna get worked up now because tonight you have a show to give the citizens," Hawskeye retorted with a confident grin and hand on his hip.

"I ain't performin' for anybody! Now let me out of this stupid cage!" Ranma continued yelled as he arose from the floor and grabbed onto his cage's metal bars.

The young fighter had the most furious expression on his face. Regardless of who this pesky trio was, he wanted to give them the beatings of their lives.

"He's right, boy," Fisheye stepped from behind the fuchsia-haired Hawkseye and neared herself to Ranma's cage. "You'll scare all the children if you keep that ugly frown. Hahahahahahaha!" And so the female Amazon laughed at her comment as Hawkseye and Tigerseye joined in.

The pureness of their laughter angered Ranma, and there was no way he could stop it. To finally enter a place where his curse would be used for others' benefits, an area where he couldn't fight back; this was like Ranma's worst nightmare!

While still humored by her remark, Fisheye and her two friends walked away from Ranma and headed for the door.

"See you at the circus show, boy! Don't break a leg! Hahahahahaha!" Fisheye looked back with a teasing smirk and waved at Ranma.

Then the sound a door closing was finally heard. Now silence was taking over.

It seemed too soon for Ranma to admit defeat. He'd pulled himself out of different situations back home, so this situation right now couldn't have been any different.

As a martial artist, he wouldn't give in to villains such as Nehelenia and her servants who had taken him for merely personal reasons.

In frustration, Ranma slammed his fists into the poled bars then bent his head down in disappointment. He certainly wouldn't have been in this cell if he hadn't underestimated the Amazon Trio's strength and speed.

So now his only option was to find a way out of this prison, then possibly find a way to defeat his new enemies.

_"Blown by a wind of seven colors..."_

This voice the astonished boy was hearing sounded gentle and sweet.

After hearing these few words, Ranma began to cease his angry mood.

Strangely enough, it seemed to calm him down, and so he tried looking for this mysteriously peaceful song's source.

_"I was aiming for the faraway peak of the plateau..."_

Ranma realized it was a young girl of about 12 or 13, with ash-blond hair tied by two cherry-colored ribbons, and dressed in a red school uniform. Also her eyes were light brown, and in them Ranma could see despair; someone her age shouldn't have been in a dark situation such as this.

The saddened girl was trapped in a cage of her own, two feet away from Ranma's prison. And two more cages were placed near them in a position that formed a square.

Ranma kept his eyes glued onto the girl and remained quiet to see what she would say next.

_"The melody I heard before dawn was a nostalgic song..."_

_"Those birds flying towards the eastern sky well, they're taking a shortcut to a treasure island..."_

It appeared that this innocent child wouldn't stop her song anytime soon, so Ranma folded his arms and sat against the wall of his cage while listening. Somehow the girl's tone soothed him; he didn't feel totally frustrated with Fisheye for her smart remark at this moment.

_"The paradise of the Seven Seas..."_

_"Our lives will be reborn so I can communicate my love after the night of the storm..."_

As Ranma took in more of these lyrical words, he wondered just what they meant, and why they were being sung. Just who was this small girl anyway?

With questions flooding his mind, Ranma didn't take the time to hear every last word from the lyrics being performed. All he remembered paying attention to were the last few lines of this cutesy song.

_"Overflowing tears with a prayer... i__lluminates a future unknown to us all...!"_

Now the song had finally ended, which meant it was time for Ranma to do some questioning and the girl some explaining.

Unfortunately, before the pig-tailed boy could part his lips, sounds of a female sniffing could be heard from Ranma's right.

Ranma quickly shifted his eyes towards this person and studied their appearance through the cage bars.

It was a young woman dressed in a lime green tank top, yellow shorts, charcoal fingerless gloves, and bright red sneakers. In her long bushy azure hair was a scarlet ribbon, and her eyes were royal blue. Her name was Launch.

Next Ranma noticed a boy with silver hair that reached past his back; his eyes were sharp and golden-yellow. He wasn't wearing any shoes, but he was clothed in a red sleeved shirt and pants, tied together by a crimson belt around his waist. His cage was beside Luchia and Launch, and his name was Inuyasha.

But what surprised Ranma most of all was this person's furry dog ears that were on his head. Just what sort of world had this guy came from?

"Ohh, Luchia... that song was so beautiful! Where did you get such a lovely voice?" Launch wiped tears from her face.

"Ummm... I guess it's just something I was born with?" Luchia couldn't exactly describe this gift of hers; it was merely part of her abilities as a Mermaid Princess.

"Tell me," Launch turned towards Ranma and interrupted his thoughts. "Did you like her singing?"

Ranma was startled and taken aback when asked this. How could this girl act so calmly when she was trapped in a cage and possibilities of her escape were low?

Truly, he wasn't sure what to respond with.

"I, uh..." Ranma started to twiddle his thumbs while still sitting. "Well... the song was..."

Both Luchia and Launch waited patiently for Ranma's answer. They had a feeling he wouldn't lie; Luchia's singing was obviously magnificent.

"I'll say that..." Ranma felt awkward because he hadn't literally taken a huge liking to the girlish song. It had only distracted him and made him wonder.

Luchia started to grow worried, and so did Launch. Who was to say he wouldn't give a negative opinion of her singing?

"I think what he means is he didn't really like the song, Luchia," Inuyasha dropped into the discussion.

"Oh... well OK," Luchia replied and looked down glumly.

Now Ranma began to feel that he was to blame. Even he wasn't quite sure how to answer about Luchia's singing, but still he wouldn't have responded with what this other boy just said.

"Hey! Don't go speakin' for me! That wasn't what I was gonna say!" Ranma rose from the floor and complained at this new character.

This person Ranma was talking to carried hair whose color resembled snow and reached past his back; his eyes were sharp and golden-yellow. He wasn't wearing any shoes, but he was clothed in a red sleeved shirt and pants, tied together by a crimson belt around his waist. His name was Inuyasha.

But what surprised Ranma most of all was this person's furry dog ears that were on his head. Just what sort of world had this guy came from?

"Oh yeah?" Inuyasha also got up and stood with hands on the cage bars. "Then say it to her with a straight face."

Ranma would gladly accept this half demon's challenge. Already he was getting off to a bad start in this strange new universe, and with another boy whose age was near his.

"Please! Don't argue."

Inuyasha and Ranma stopped their verbal fight and both stared at Luchia with blank expressions. In bad times, this child seemed angelic enough to bring relief.

"If he doesn't wanna say anything, then that's fine. I was just trying to cheer him up," a tiny smile spread across Luchia's lips.

She knew her singing had brought peace to Ranma. That was why it was used in times of righting wrongs and evil, because it wasn't just reciting the words that helped her conquer enemies, but rather... the loving and kind heart which Luchia put into her singing.

Ranma and Inuyasha stayed quiet to think Luchia's response through. Beating each other up definitely wasn't going to set them free. And Ranma couldn't say he felt the slightest bit more calm after hearing a few of Luchia's lyrics; meanwhile Inuyasha couldn't say they weren't cheerful.

"Luchia's right, you two. Now it's bad enough that we're all stuck in this strange circus tent, but we can't let it take over our minds," Launch added this brief explanation.

Now both Luchia and Launch were correct. It was just the arrival of two stubborn boys who acted determined when it came time to fighting, verbal or physically.

So Ranma looked over at Inuyasha without irritation. He decided to form a peace treaty with this hot-headed individual. It was the least they could do since they were trapped in the same room.

"The girls're right. Let's put our differences aside so we can get outta' this weird place."

Ranma's hushed tone seemed to boggle Inuyasha. But the white-haired teen knew his words were reasonable. So at that moment Inuyasha's expression changed from mad to understanding.

"Fine." Just that one-syllable word alone relieved everyone. It didn't have to sound pretty or be sugar-coated, but as long as it came straight from the heart was all that mattered. "But this doesn't mean we're friends," Inuyasha folded his arms and closed his eyes.

Luchia and Launch grew bad feelings about these next few moments. And they had just gotten the boys to form a truce too?

"Friends?" Ranma responded with a confusing and annoyed tone. The ebony-haired fighter turned around from his acquaintances and huffed as he crossed his arms. "Who said anything 'bout friends?"

'Just our luck...' Launch sighed and spoke for her and Luchia's sake in her mind.

'It's like everything we said was all for nothing,' Luchia took the same notion as a sweat drop appeared on her head.

Now another useless argument was taking place. And this time neither Launch or Luchia felt courageous enough to stop its constant chattering.

One thing both the younger and older girl knew; boys would always be boys, and these two in here with them didn't contrast.


	2. Chapter 2

_**-Dead Moon Circus Episode Two-**_

_**Shocking Surprises! Entrance to Dead Moon Castle!**_

After listening to nonsense argument between Inuyasha and Ranma, Launch took the conversation to a more peaceful area.

"Sooo... since we're all stuck in these cages, we might as well get to know each other."

"You mean you guys haven't found a way out?" Ranma changed the subject and quickly cut Launch's statement in half.

With honesty, escaping and plotting revenge on Queen Nehelenia was all the martial artist could think about. He wondered why everyone didn't act supportive of this.

"No..." Luchia answered with a sigh.

"I tried to break out of this stupid cage and free the others, but its indestructible," added Inuyasha.

Ranma had to think about what was just spoken. There had to be some kind of way to destroy these metal-looking bars, and as far as he knew, Ranma was a pretty strong guy.

Out of nowhere, he noticed Inuyasha pull his Tessaiga from a wooden sheath tied to his back. Noticing the yellow sparks that flew out as Inuyasha grabbed his sword caught Ranma's attention.

"That's a powerful looking sword ya' got there."

Inuyasha looked up and moved his eyes towards Ranma when he heard this remark.

Ranma parted his lips to speak, but he could hear an awful sneeze emerge. When he turned towards his right to check this, Ranma along with Inuyasha and Luchia suddenly bulged their eyes in an astounding manner at Launch; her eyes were now jade-green, while her hair streaks changed into a yellow hue. If these alternations weren't unusual enough, Launch's usual expression also changed. Now her face contained a mixture of anger and mischievousness.

Next everyone could hear a irritated scowl come from Launch; they were still to speechless to ponder on her mysterious transformation.

"What's with these cages?"

Then suddenly Launch revealed a black machine gun and hurried her fingers to its trigger. An evil grin swept across her face as she was doing this; and her acquaintances began trembling with fear.

Luchia was thinking of what could have possibly happened to Launch's kind and sweet personality. This sudden transformation of Launch's caught everyone off complete guard, and there was no real explanation for it.

In and instant, Launch began firing dozens of ammo from her weapon aiming for everyone else's cages; the trigger-happy gal was doing this in order to save them. Each bullet that made contact with the cage's bars made a high-pitched sound and gave off tiny orange sparks.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHH!" Luchia screamed out, while her, Ranma and Inuyasha hopped in a constant motion to dodge Launch's shots.

"Hey! What's the big idea?" cried Ranma.

"Put that thing down!" Inuyasha's loud voice entered.

Shortly after the half-demon gave this demand, Launch ran out of ammo for her gun.

And before anyone realized, Launch had let out a second allergic reaction, going back into her form with dark hair and kind eyes.

"Huh?" one at a time, the innocent lady noticed everyone's bewildered and astonished expressions.

Smoke was rising from the bars of everyone's traps where Launch aimed towards; like Inuyasha's blade, even bullets weren't strong enough to destroy their cages. Meanwhile the amount of ammo lying on the ground looked to be thousands of pint-sized bullets; it was almost unbelievable.

Ranma, Luchia, and Inuyasha could only react with agape mouths and speechlessness.

Launch eventually shifted her pupils to the floor and noticed the thousands of charcoal bullets.

"Oh my!" she clasped her hands in shock and gazed at what she had caused. "How did all of these bullets get on the floor?"

Before responding, Inuyasha, Ranma, and Luchia tried to figure out what had just occurred. It was only minutes ago that Launch's character was gentle and encouraging. Then after her mere sneeze, the young woman became rough and brutal, and now Launch clearly didn't remember anything.

As much as he wondered, Ranma couldn't identify Launch's disorder as a curse from the Jusenkyo Springs. However, he did begin to think on whether she'd enter a different situation with getting a horrible misfortune.

Seeing how much confusion she'd transferred around the room, Launch was soon interrogated.

"You mean you don't remember turning into a person with blond hair and a black gun?" Luchia asked for clarity in this question as she was kneeling down and held onto her prison's bars. The preteen didn't want to believe what she had witnessed Launch doing.

"No, I don't. I'm really sorry." Launch was taken aback by these 'harsh accusations'. She'd gladly aid Luchia with finding the clues to her wanted answer, but every time the sweet heart sneezed and transformed, her memories didn't stay with her.

As strange as it sounded, Inuyasha and Ranma realized this was true; so they decided to drop their questions and move on. Hopefully Launch wouldn't let out another one of her sneezes, as long as they were trapped in Queen Nehelenia's clutches.

Eventually Luchia decided to brush Launch's predicament off her mind, but like the boys she'd remain cautious of any possible allergic happenings.

"So, like I was saying before.. how about we go around the room and introduce ourselves. Say your name and tell us what your talent is."

Launch figured the characters beside her carried awesome skills since they were also captured like her.

Everyone could see how friendly and open the kind woman was trying to be; her words before about sticking together were absolutely right.

So Luchia decided to be the first to give her name and unique ability. She appeared enthusiastic to acquaint herself with Launch and the others.

"I'll go first."

Before finishing, Luchia rose from the floor of her cage and stood up.

"My name is Luchia, and my talent is singing," a friendly smile formed along her mouth.

The young girl would have mentioned her mermaid form, but still Luchia didn't see that as fitting for this discussion.

Next Launch was prepared to share background about herself, so she also got up and gave a cheery smile.

"My name's Launch, and uh... I'm not really sure what my talent is," the blue-haired woman placed a hand to her chin.

If that supernatural sneeze of hers was the talent, then to think how much trouble would come forth; this thought appeared in the minds of Luchia, Inuyasha, and Ranma.

"Oh..." a sweat drop formed on Luchia's head while she placed a handkerchief to her face. "Well, that's perfectly alright with me. What about you guys?"

"Y-yep. Works for me," answered Ranma.

Next Luchia looked at Inuyasha for her response.

"I couldn't agree any better," Inuyasha added.

Launch stared at everyone confusedly, then soon dropped the conversation from her mind; she'd never be aware of her possible talent.

Seeing that Ranma and Inuyasha had folded their arms and weren't anxious to explain themselves, Launch decided to speak.

"One of you boys should go next." Launch turned her sight to the male with long silvery hair. "Could you tell us about yourself, please mister?"

Inuyasha looked at Luchia when he heard the gentle child ask this question. Here he was trapped in a room with two sweet girls who only wanted to be mutual. Still he wasn't used to sharing things about himself with just anyone. Even when his relationship with Kagome flourished, one of the factors that helped her learn more about the half-demon was her kind nature.

After more minutes passed, Inuyasha was finally convinced by their pacifist characteristics.

"My names Inuyasha."

"Inuyasha..." Launch repeated this name in low voice. She'd never heard anything like it before; it sounded so mysterious and original.

Ranma saw minimal reason behind Inuyasha's strange dog ears for his name. And even then, he wasn't sure if Jusenkyo Springs was the answer for it.

"Well, Inuyasha, what about your talent?" Luchia asked him.

"My talent?" Inuyasha had to think about this. He carried different abilities, but not anything he considered a "talent".

Surprisingly, Ranma was also curious as to what this furry-eared boy was capable of.

"Well... I can't say if I have one, but I DO know how to kick butt with this sword of mine!" Inuyasha stood up, grabbed his Tessaiga and held it in appreciation; he was really proud of his fighting abilities and wasn't afraid to use them on any villain.

"That's really cool!" Launch returned a smile to Inuyasha then sent Ranma a curious look. Now you tell us about yourself."

With him as the last speaker, Ranma could feel nervous pressure building inside of him. If his curse was what they wanted to know, then he wasn't proud of it in the slightest; there was nothing talented about switching genders with the assistance of water.

"The names Ranma and I ain't got no talent," Ranma answered in a flat tone.

Just when she'd heard from everyone else, Launch became worried about the pigtailed-teenager and his given response. Luchia also grew concerned while Inuyasha only remained silent.

"What do you mean you don't have a talent? There must be something you can do if you got captured like the rest of us," Launch explained to Ranma.

What the azure-eyed girl just spoke was absolutely true; Ranma realized this, but still he didn't want to share not one detail about his terrible predicament.

"I don't know why they captured me," Ranma gave a shrug.

"Can you just quit with the lying already? All of us already went, so now its your turn!" Inuyasha started fussing.

The young fighter really didn't want to express anything about himself, so it was only fair that he got to hear about Ranma; at least that's how he felt.

"I already told ya' that I ain't got no talent!" Ranma got up from the ground and barked at Inuyasha.

Both Luchia and Launch turned their sights back and forth to whoever made a reply.

"So you're saying they made a mistake in kidnapping you then?"

It didn't take long for Ranma to answer this question.

"Yeah! I can't do anything that would help out a circus. Jeez..."

The next few moments remained silent. With Ranma's given remark, the others couldn't think of anything else to say; whatever Nehelenia's reason was for capturing him contained logic.

"It seems you have all acquainted with each other," came a womanly voice from the middle of everyone's cages.

With her flowing ebony hair and usual long dark dress, Queen Nehelenia caught the attention of the four caged heroes and gave them shock.

Luchia and Launch gasped in utter surprise.

"It's the least you can all do since you are all my slaves now," Nehelenia remarked with an evil snicker on her face.

"Whatcha' talkin' 'bout? None of us belong to you, and SOON we're gonna find a way outta this place!" Ranma clenched his fist and shook it at the Dead Moon Empress.

Inuyasha's expression also became serious as he balled up his hands and glared at Nehelenia.

"You have a lot of nerve trapping us in these cages like we're animals," the half-demon remarked in a cold tone.

"Well, with those ears on your head, I beg to differ," Nehelenia scoffed at Inuyasha's appearance.

Once he realized what was being recognized, Inuyasha with a blushed frown on his face quickly reached for his animal ears and covered them; no one besides him would never know how embarrassing it could feel to have these sort of features.

"Shut up! These stupid dog ears don't mean anything! Now tell us why you've captured and brought us here."

And so Nehelenia willingly decided to explain her villainous reasons for capturing the specific four heroes. It was as if she wanted to tell this story to them since it became successful.

"I'm sure the girl over there with the pigtails can figure out my reasons for having you all kidnapped," Nehelenia referred to Luchia while grinning evilly at her.

Luchia wasn't expecting the dark woman to bring her up; but she was capable of answering their question. Inuyasha, Ranma, and Launch all shifted their eyes towards the young girl to wait for a response.

"Yes. I do know why you kidnapped all four of us," Luchia began with a serious face. "But still, that doesn't make it fair. Anything we're good at shouldn't be used for others benefits. That's why circuses hire circus performers, not regular human beings."

While Luchia's acquaintances remained speechless after hearing her wonderful speech, a tiny smile appeared on Nehelenia's lips; she was impressed with both Luchia's courage and bravery to talk against her.

"Hmm. Your words hold logic in them. But unfortunately, that differentiates with my reasons for capturing you all. I hired my henchmen to do so because I needed better than circus performers."

When Ranma heard the word "better" in that sentence, he pondered on it and finally prepared a response to throw at Nehelenia. He was starting to grow irritated with her words, so his fists remained clenched and gained his courage like Luchia had.

"Better? Just what are ya' gettin' at? You heard Luchia! We're just a bunch a kids who happen to have different things. It's not like we asked for any of it. Just because you might like them doesn't mean we necessarily do."

It seemed that Ranma was speaking more for himself than the others.

At that instant, Inuyasha began to meditate on these replies of Ranma's.

As long as he could remember, the dog-like male got treated different and more harshly because of his unique appearance alone. All his life, he remained in between the sides of human and demon; his mother being human, and father a canine demon. When his physical age finally reached 15, that was when Inuyasha decided to gain ultimate power by retrieving the Shikkon Jewel and transforming into a full-fledged demon. But as his life paced, that goal disappeared and soon Inuyasha remained a half-demon and fell in love with Kagome.

So Inuyasha could relate to the idea of disliking his appearance and mixture of human and demon blood, even though now he was content with it.

Since Launch never remembered her series of changes, and Luchia's talent wasn't disliked or harmful, neither girl could put themselves in Ranma's or Inuyasha's feet; still they knew how correct Ranma was.

"You're just makin' a mistake by keeping us here," Ranma concluded his statement.

To everyone's surprise, Nehelenia released a series of laughs. She was greatly amused by her prisoners and their attempts of making her consider setting them free.

"Is that so? We shall see if there's a mistake when you all perform in the circus show later on this evening. Farewell! Hahahahahahahaha!"

And with that, Nehelenia vanished from the room in the blink of an eye, making everyone gasp.

"Come back here, ya' witch! I'm not through talkin' ta' you!" Ranma grabbed the bars of his cage and kept hollering.

Then suddenly the pigtailed-boy and Inuyasha sensed a weird energy approaching them, and next he noticed Launch and Luchia rubbing their foreheads.

"It feels like something's going through my skin," mentioned Launch.

To her surprise, the azure-haired girl detected black crescent moon marks formed behind Luchia's golden bangs.

"Luchia! There's a black moon tattoo on your forehead!" Launch pointed with her finger.

"Huh? A black moon?" Luchia wanted clarity about this strange assumption.

Inuyasha and Ranma believed it since they picked up unusual energies to begin with.

"She's right! It's on your face too, Inuyasha!" Ranma informed the half-demon.

"Ditto to you, Ranma," came in Launch's voice.

The idea of having a mysterious shape on his forehead crept Inuyasha out. It was like the same thing his half-brother named Sesshomaru had on his face; but he was a full demon. So why and where exactly did this crescent mark appear from?

Inuyasha along with his acquaintances constantly rubbed the same spot in hopes of removing it.

"Is it gone?" Ranma asked the others while moving his hair out of the way.

"No," Luchia answered for him.

Ranma was still confused, but he had to figure all of this out. It wouldn't be simply for nothing that they all received this weird tattoos.

Then he thought back to Nehelenia, and remembered something on her forehead; those three moons of hers; possibly that could be the explanation.

"Hey, you guys! I think I know how we got these on our foreheads!"

"Really? How?" Launch replied quickly.

"Because that lady who came a while ago had three of them on her forehead."

While Ranma's fellow teenagers were thinking about this, a familiar voice entered the atmosphere.

"You're friend is correct about that."

Everyone abruptly stopped what they were doing and acted cautious when hearing Nehelenia's voice.

"I wasn't joking when I mentioned you all being my slaves. Now, for your new place as my slaves, why don't you see what's in this room over there?"

Out of nowhere, a yellow door appeared on the wall westward of the room.

Ranma and the others stared at it, then noticed it opening by itself, leading to a bright whiteness. Everyone wondered where it had came from.

Then their prisons faded away, setting the four heroes free.

"The cages disappeared," Launch thought out loud.

True, they were glad to have been freed from those behind those bars, however mainly Inuyasha and Ranma didn't take it so lightly.

"So you're just letting us off that easy, huh? What's inside this door you've conjured up?" Inuyasha began interrogating Queen Nehelenia while reaching for his sword.

"Why don't you go inside and see for yourself? I'm only trying to be hospitable to my new circus performers," Nehelenia's voice ended with a fading echo.

Ranma and his new comrades knew that Nehelenia's words remained false, but they had no choice but to enter this mysterious door. Besides, whatever was behind it, Ranma and Inuyasha would be ready to drive them away with their fighting power.

"Are you guys sure about this?" Luchia asked Ranma.

"Yeah. Don't worry, Luchia. Inuyasha and I are strong enough to take on anything," Ranma smiled down at the child and gave a thumbs up; this seemed to cheer her up.

"OK then. Let's do it." After Luchia nodded her head in agreement, her and Launch started for the door with Inuyasha and Ranma in front of them.

While Inuyasha held his sword in a fighting stance, Ranma put up his dukes.

And so the quartet stepped towards the door and into the almost blinding light.

Sooner than any of them expected, our heroes found themselves in a place that was least expected; with its multiple chairs along the desk and giant mirrors.

"What is this?" Inuyasha studied the boxed room.

The swordsman was almost baffled at this moment, after he'd prepared his weapon to give any foe a harsh beating.

"It's a dressing room," answered Luchia while gazing at herself in the mirror.

"A dressing room?" Ranma almost didn't want to believe Luchia's statement; already Nehelenia was playing games with each of them.

"Why would she lead us into this room?" wondered Launch as she pulled up a chair and sat down.

Then her allies began to also give her question some thought. Not a single object was laying on the vanity table, nor was anything hanging on the walls of the room; Ranma could feel something fishy occurring behind all of this.

Suddenly the entire room began to sway as if it were underwater. A brilliant white glow blazed in the middle of the room, bringing surprise into the room.

"What's going on?" Launch could feel her entire body fluctuating with the rest of the area.

"My body feels strange," Luchia moaned in a afraid tone.

Soon the entire area was progressing in enveloping the every inch of the room. Inuyasha and Ranma stayed cautious towards it, even when the light didn't appear dangerous.

In a matter of seconds, Inuyasha, Launch, Luchia, and Ranma found themselves in a completely new place. The ceiling was 30 feet above them, wallpaper colored gold and canary yellow, sets of glass windows taller than everyone, ivory marble floor tile, and a long set of stairs leading to the second floor.

"Ohh..." this was the only reaction anyone could push out; mainly Launch and Luchia. This room was so beautiful and looked valuable. This stumped Luchia as him and Launch couldn't figure out why this were the place Nehelenia promised them. But soon the evil queen's reasons became uncared for.

Launch and Luchia moved a few steps away to hold their own conversation while Inuyasha and Ranma kept still.

"Hey," Inuyasha neared himself next to Ranma and whispered to him. "Doesn't this place creep you out? All I'm sensing from it is the same vibes we felt when we got those marks on our foreheads."

To accept this statement, Ranma closed his eyes and focused his mind entirely on the atmosphere they were in; Inuyasha was right about this.

"Would you look at this place, Launch?" Luchia's eyes began to give off an extreme gleam.

"Yep. I'm feelin' it too," Ranma opened his eyelids and looked around the room. "That lady is also responsible for this creatin' this room."

Without a doubt, the martial artist believed that their new foe had led them into another mere trap.

As Inuyasha and Ranma remained in deep thought about their matter, Luchia's cheery tone rang through their ears, causing them to lift their heads up and notice.

"And it's all for us! I say we split up and explore different rooms!"

With Luchia giving this declaration, she hurried for the northwest wing of the area while Launch raced towards the golden staircase, astonishing their male companions.

"Hey! What are you two doing? Get back here!" Inuyasha shouted out. "This entire place is just an illusion to keep us here!"

Even Ranma would've thought with the loudness in Inuyasha's voice that Launch and Luchia would come running back in relief, but 2 minutes passed until he realized it was futile.

"Great! Whadda' we do now? They think this is some vacation," Ranma frowned and crossed his arms.

Neither Ranma or Inuyasha would ever fully understand why a female enjoyed riches or being pampered by residing in a wealthy home; even if it were all a trick. Little did the guys know why exactly their acquaintances were obsessed with searching through the mansion.

"Then we search until some answers appear," Inuyasha answered Ranma's question, starting for the east wing; a part of Ranma didn't feel comfortable with this idea.

"Fine then. I'll go this way. But if ya' see anything, you'll know were to find me," Ranma explained, beginning into the southward hall of the mansion.

Knocking the daylights out of Nehelenia and vanquishing her was all Ranma could think about while pacing through the endless hallway; especially that mangy freak with the blond hair dressed in the tiger pants. Once he had the opportunity, Ranma would really show him a thing or two.

'I mean it! Once I get outta' this weird house I'm gonna smash his face in, along with that other girl and guy with the pink hair,' Ranma was recalling back to Fisheye and Tigerseye.

So Ranma reached the end of the long hall and towards its door, until a girl instantly appeared in front of him. She had a long scarlet ponytail banded with golden-yellow rings, and a distinct black tube which left only a single puff of hair at the end, fair skin, and crimson eyes. The girl was clothed in a unusual red and ebony bra that connected only to the choker around her neck, huge gold earrings, black and red stripe bracelets, ivory shoulder pads with two spikes jutting out, a transparent rose skirt with crimson trimming at the top, orange-red leggings, and mahogany sandals with straps.

Even where he came from, Ranma had never met a girl who carried these many accessories. But suddenly a noticeable piece of it all captured his eye; this girl carried something also dark in the center of her forehead. Did she most likely become a slave also?

"Who the heck 're you 'spose to be?" Ranma asked the mysterious girl.

"Glad you asked. My names VesVes," the color-coordinated girl retorted with blushed cheeks. With Ranma's unspoken yet handsome features, VesVes's heart was quickly taken away; this was physically noticed when Ranma saw her eyes twinkling straight towards his. "So what's your name?" VesVes placed a finger under Ranma's chin.

"Hmph!" Ranma pushed the acrobat's hand away from his face and looked away while crossing his arms. VesVes giggled at the dark-haired boy's temperamental behavior. "None of ya' business. Now just tell me how me and my friends ended up in this fancy place."

While Ranma was getting information out of VesVes, Inuyasha had made his way past the aisle of doors and into an large kitchen with theme colors snowy-white and peacock-green. Everything was organized in an orderly fashion, every spot of the room completely spotless. A counter in the middle of the room had its cooking accessories hanging above it on racks and hooks. It consisted of spatulas, pitchforks, pots and frying pans, and giant spoons. Every space of wall was taken up with a white refrigerator followed by additional cabinets, ceiling and floor.

'Kagome's mom's kitchen is nothing compared to this', Inuyasha thought to himself in awe.

Then at that moment, the half-demon picked up a huge scent, coming from the stove next to the center counter top. Someone had been cooking a large portion of beef steak using one of the kitchen's charcoal pans. Inuyasha's desire to seek this food couldn't be helped once his stomach released a series of noisy grumbles; when WAS the last time he'd eaten anything?

"Smells like someones' cooking something good." Even if this were an illusion, just the fragrance of this meat satisfied him, so Inuyasha let himself walk towards it. Maybe with a little energy in his stomach, he could focus better on finding the clues to this strange mansion.

The sound of a door opening, opposite from the entrance Inuyasha used to come in made its usual creaking noise, causing Inuyasha to perk up his dogs ears and act cautious.

The whole time he piled his guard up until witnessing the person behind the door. When Inuyasha got a full glimpse of this individual, they let out a shocked gasp and took a step back, not only because someone had entered the kitchen, but because of their appearance. It went the same way for Inuyasha, as he studied their pink and lemony outfit; truly it carried a resemblance to VesVes's, except she wore a rose for a choker, petaled flowers lay on each side of her waist, ankles, wrists, and forehead. It was only her skirt and three ribbons tied in her cotton-candy hair that took on the yellow hue. The style of her hairdo was a bun on top, circular shaped pigtails on each end, and rosy braided locks that extended to her knees. Also with carmine eyes, her name was CereCere.

The entire time her and Inuyasha's pupils laid on each other because they were in wonderment and curiosity. Inuyasha had finally gotten a clue, meanwhile CereCere had nabbed her given target.


	3. Chapter 3

_**-Dead Moon Circus Episode Three-**_

_**Fateful Acquaintances! Every Woman's Dream!**_

This wasn't what he'd expected to see while being stuck in this illusionary mansion, but discovering another person would come into great use.

"Who are you?" Inuyasha asked CereCere with a stern expression.

"I'm CereCere, a member of the Amazoness Quartet. And you are...?"

Right after she gave this response, CereCere heard the sounds of her new acquaintance biting into something and chewing. Then she shifted her eyes to see Inuyasha sinking his sharp teeth into the steak that was laying on the kitchen stove in its frying pan.

For CereCere, this meant great success, so the circus girl smirked and awaited Inuyasha's next movements.

It wasn't until seconds passed that she realized her secretive plan hadn't moved into the direction she planned for it to go. Inuyasha didn't appear to be choking or collapsing to the tiled floor.

"Uhhh... do you feel any sort of pain after eating that piece of meat?" CereCere began in her usual soft voice.

"No... why...?"

Inuyasha raised his eyebrow in utter question of this. He had no idea what the real purpose of that delicious steak he'd eaten was. Luckily for him, it had resulted as a complete failure.

CereCere could feel her scheme along with herself be exposed as Inuyasha grew more and more suspicious. She was seen fidgeting with her hands while trying to think up an excusable reason in her mind.

Before she parted her lips to speak, the sound of a door opening broke the silence. Both CereCere and Inuyasha diverted their eyes towards the opening; the pig-tailed character was only recognizable to Inuyasha.

"Hey! Huh?"

After finding his companion, Ranma noticed a girl with rose hair braided similar his standing beside Inuyasha. There was no doubt in his mind that this girl was affiliated with VesVes. They all had the same idea of dressing in outlandish outfits and wearing strange hairstyles.

The smell of meat in the room wafted towards his nose. For some reason, somebody had decided to cook food. Ranma couldn't help but wonder why the scent of the steak's flavor felt real to him if they were supposed to be in a figment of their imagination.

Before Ranma could carry onto interrogating CereCere, VesVes came jogging in through the door to also notice the unexplained scene. Right away she turned her eyes to Inuyasha and found him still in a conscious state.

"CereCere? He didn't eat that steak you cooked, did he?"

VesVes noticed a three pairs of eyes move towards her. She'd aroused further confusion and wonder. Ranma then grasped the feeling that suspicion of VesVes and CereCere was absolute.

"Well..." a sweatdrop formed on CereCere's now blushed face as she started to answer VesVes's question during another moment of fidgeting with her hands. "He did eat it, but I think I might have forgotten to add the poison..."

"Poison?" Inuyasha queried, clutching onto his abdomen with great paranoia.

And so this made Ranma correct.

For some reason, these new girls him and Inuyasha had encountered wanted them both dead. And now that he thought about it, that could mean Luchia and Launch were in possible danger after leaving their side.

VesVes suddenly noticed Ranma face and send her a fearsome glare. She took a step back in scariness of it.

Meanwhile CereCere figured Inuyasha would do the same to her, so she backed away from the half-demon and found that he'd turned around to also give her a negative reaction.

"Start explainin' or I'll find a way to poison ya' and your little friend over there!" Ranma threatened VesVes.

"Yeah!" added Inuyasha, focusing his attention to CereCere.

It was no use for either VesVes or CereCere to continue. Ranma had first learned their motives. VesVes kept staring into his serious indigo eyes.

Because of this feature, VesVes found Ranma to be handsome. It was one of his appearance's aspects that she could never grow dissatisfied of gazing at.

With this in her mind, it helped VesVes stump onto an idea; one tactic that Ranma would never be able to defeat.

It started with him finding VesVes move her face closer to his while she grinned about it. Ranma began to wince back at her sudden approach as it almost made him fall to the floor.

"Well, if you want to know that bad, then I don't mind," VesVes replied in a seductive tone.

Even with her wierd and clingy behavior, Ranma had no choice but to listen and gain an understanding of why her and CereCere had planned to annihilate Inuyasha with food poisoning.

* * *

Inuyasha and Ranma became surprised after listening to VesVes give the explanation.

The reason for their idea of making Inuyasha suffer was because him, Ranma, Luchia, and Launch had stolen their spotlight in Nehelenia's circus show. VesVes, CereCere, and their two other sisters had been recognized as talented performers, until one day they'd recieved word from Nehelenia that newcomers would arrive to substitute for them. She insisted that the spectators paying to see a circus wanted to view something besides their usual performances.

"So that's why you tried to poison me?" Inuyasha snapped at CereCere in a upset voice.

"It was the only idea we could think of," CereCere urged in a pleading manner. "If we couldn't get rid of you and you're friends, then how else would we get out jobs back?"

"Well, just so ya' know," Ranma interjected. "None of us wanted to be here to begin with."

CereCere and VesVes turned to face each other with relief; now thanks to Ranma's words, everything became clearer. The Dead Moon Queen was definite about obtaining new circus performers, even if it meant resorting to kidnap.

"Yeah. We're not thinking about becoming circus freaks," added Inuyasha with small frown on his face.

Neither VesVes or CereCere could believe the truth they'd just heard. So Queen Nehelenia had gone this far in means of replacing them? Didn't they have feelings or input in the matter?

Ranma and Inuyasha could notice both girls clenching their fists while their eyes blazed with anger. It appeared as if they now had a reason to be against Nehelenia.

"I have an idea that can help all of us out." Ranma stated, causing everyone to stare with wonder at him.

"Really. What is it?" replied CereCere.

Inuyasha was also curious to learn what sort of plan Ranma would hatch, so he gave the fighter his full attention.

"The only way either of us can get what we want is if we work together. You guys can get your jobs back, and me and my friends can leave."

This idea of Ranma's sounded excellent; VesVes nor CereCere would hesitate into accepting it.

Before progressing into action, they first needed to inform their other siblings.

* * *

Unknown to both Ranma and Inuyasha, their female companions had been having a pleasant time grabbing and trying on several outfits from inside a large oak wardrobe. Niether Launch or Luchia wondered about why they were doing this, but it excited them; giving them an experience they didn't want cease.

Ves Ves along with CereCere arrived upstairs and entered the room with Inuyasha and Ranma behind them. They didn't fail to notice Launch reaching for a cerulean ballgown from the wardrobe and Luchia gazing at herself in the mirror beside it, but the circus duo placed attention on their other sisters, who were sitting on the bed in the far right corner of the room.

The first young woman, named JunJun, carried emerald eyes and jade-green hair that arched into three opposite directions. Meanwhile, she was equipped in a revealing tanktop with straps that crossed, ivory pants with an olive-colored flap in the middle, sandals that resembled VesVes's pair, golden hoop earrings and bracelets on each arm, a tan chocker around her neck, and of course a small jewel embedded onto her forehead like her siblings

As for the second individual, she was dressed in a pale blue leotard, possibly crafted from a type of metal or plastic, cyan tights for her slender legs, slippers with spheres attached to their top, a choker, earrings, bracelets on each arm, and sticks jutting out of her hair that all contained the same circular objects. Her alias was PallaPalla.

When Inuyasha and Ranma finally entered the room, they noticed the unique appearances of their new acquaintances' relatives; did they all join into this abnormal fad of style?

"There they are!... huh?"

Ranma stared at Launch and Luchia, Inuyasha also being in a perplexed state. They couldn't understand how the two girls had let themselves get so involved with dressing up when they needed to escape.

"Launch!" Luchia called her name after slipping on the chosen ballgown. "Doesn't this look just so lovely on me?"

Luchia looked away from the mirror and sent the older female a cheerful smile.

"You bet!"

Before Ranma or Inuyasha could speak on this, they both caught sign of PallaPalla and JunJun walking up to them. By the looks of their faces, they seemed puzzled; did they believe that their sisters actually made success with poisoning them?

"Hey, VesVes," began JunJun. "Me and PallaPalla thought you took care of these two."

Inuyasha and Ranma grew irritated, realizing what the tough acrobat were referring to. They'd carried enough discussion about the incident of why CereCere decided to add poison into the steak that Inuyasha ate in the first place; neither male felt like entering that conversation again.

Sweatdrops formed on the heads of the nervous CereCere and VesVes when this past topic entered their mind.

"Well..." CereCere parted her lips. "Actually, they didn't die from the meat because I forgot to add its poisoning. And besides... we've decided to form a truce."

"A truce? But what about everything WE planned before?" JunJun asked in a befuddled tone.

Before forming an answer, VesVes motioned to stand behind Ranma and wrap her bare arms around his neck; she smiled with glee about it; Luchia and Launch, being in the far corner of the room didn't notice this, meanwhile PallaPalla and JunJun were surprised. Their sister hadn't mentioned anything about a new boyfriend.

"They said that they didn't come to steal or jobs, but instead Queen Nehelenia captured them."

The scene of watching VesVes piqued their interests, but her aquamarine and emerald coordinated sisters became more concerned with her current remark.

So their leader had went this far with recruting new characters and filling them in their roles. It was low and quite scandalous. Had their talents became that unpopular that being replaced was the next best thing?

"Hey! Let go of me!" Ranma snapped at VesVes, attempting to pull her arms from around his shoulders.

Finally he succeeded and huffed while folding his arms.

In his mind, Inuyasha felt grateful that he didn't have to worry about a persistent girl like VesVes tugging onto him.

"So you're telling us that kidnapping these two and those girls over there is the Queen's way of firing us?" JunJun changed the subject with a peeved tone, addressing Ranma and the other 3 captives.

"The nerve of her!" joined in PallaPalla. "Why would she do that to us? We're her best performers."

"Apparently not if she's kidnapping people to replace us," CereCere affirmed in a disappointed voice.

Before the rose-haired girl could give further input on the situation, her sisters and her all noticed Ranma and Inuyasha persisting with telling Luchia and Launch to return their clothes to the wardrobe so they could continue their formulated plan.

"Inuyasha! What are you doing?" asked Launch, struggling to yank a white corset from his grasp. "Let go of my corset!"

"But its for your own good! We have to get out of here before its too late!" Inuyasha insisted.

Ranma wasn't pulling anything from Luchia. Instead, he stood beside and watched her study her facial features in front of the large mirror. She never shifted her eyes to give Ranma her full attention.

"C'mon, Luchia! We finally found a way to get ourselves out of here."

"But I like it here, Ranma," Luchia argued in a delighted tone, running fingers through her blond hair.

The more he stared at her expression, the more he discovered how her pupils changed to a different shade. They didn't appear in their usual caramel color, but with less gloss and in a darker tint. Not to mention the darkish aura he'd sensed; this energy Ranma felt were matched the power Inuyasha and him discovered when they first arrived inside this mansion.

The martial artist pondered on this for a moment while his sights remained on Luchia. When her and Launch ran away from them, neither Inuyasha or him could say they felt that power. Therefore it led Ranma to only one sort of conclusion.

"That mark on you forehead..." he began in a serious voice. "That's what's makin' ya' act like this! And Launch too. It's what Inuyasha and I both sensed."

Before Inuyasha realized, he'd on accident allow Launch's desired piece of clothing slip from his fingers and cause her to stumble backwards, as Ranma's given explanation had stunned him. Why hadn't he come to understand it?

"You're right! All of a sudden I can feel a larger amount of it," added Inuyasha, staring at Launch's forehead mark.

The Amazoness Quartet were impressed by Ranma's explanation. He'd finally been able to figure out the plan their leader had devised.

Now, since they'd decided to team up with him and Inuyasha, things would have to begin with doing them a huge favor.

JunJun made a green sphere appear in her hands, then eyed each of her sisters, motioning them to all do the same. The objects they brought had hues that coordinated with their outfits; VesVes contained scarlet, PallaPalla cyan, and CereCere lemony-yellow.

Inuyasha noticed them and remained silent, watching the female group close their eyes for concentration while their magical balls began to give off a larger glow. He wondered just sort of powers each of their spheres contained.

Then Ranma found what VesVes and the other girls were performing. Suddenly his eyes bulged as he'd noticed a contrast in the entire room; Inuyasha also reacted in the same manner.

"Wha-?" Inuyasha thought out loud.

Before their very eyes, the half demon and Ranma could study the room and notice it flickering back and forth from it's original setting to a grayish and dungeon-looking castle.

"Ohhh... my head is aching for some reason!"

In a alarmed manner, both Ranma and Inuyasha turned to where this voice came from and realized it were Launch, gingerly holding onto her head while Luchia collasped to the ground and did the same. They appeared to be in pain from the power the Amazoness Quartet were developing from their spherical objects.

"Launch!"

Inuyasha rushed over to her side while Ranma to Luchia.

The changing of the room didn't end just yet.

As time passed, more of the mansion's features lessened. The Amazoness Quartet's mystical spheres seemed to reach a brighter glow.

Whatever they were doing, it was bringing pain to both Luchia and Launch. Inuyasha and Ranma didn't want to see it continue.

So, Ranma rose from the ground in hopes of interrogating them, but suddenly he landed on one knee and gasped in shock. A huge amount of power had left his body, while the same crescent moon on his forehead had vanished.

'Why did a bunch of energy just leave my body?' Inuyasha clutched onto his chest.

The 15-year old looked at each of the Amazoness Quartet members noticing their objects had became shinier. Was this all apart of snatching their energy? If it were, Inuyasha wouldn't hesitate to attack them for it.

Luchia and Launch still found themselves holding their heads and moaning in sheer pain.

Like their male companions, the jet black moons on their foreheads also disappeared.

Inuyasha would have walked up to the Amazoness Quartet, but the room finally chose its dungeon setting, astonishing Ranma and him. The light from each of the Amazoness Quartet's items faded, and they lifted their eyelids to find their plan had been successful.

Luchia arose from the ground, wondering what had just ocurred, but gasped in total shock and covered her mouth. What were they doing inside of a scary castle?

Then Launch got up and reacted in the same manner; her nor Luchia didn't remember how they ended up in this place. Everything about the room appeared the same, except the large wardrobe was extremely dusty, and one of its door hinges was broken. Meanwhile, the mirror had a series of terrible cracks while some shards of it were missing, the bed being the only normal and clean piece of furniture.

"Ranma... Inuyasha?" Launch asked in an uncomfortable tone while she continued scanning the room. "Why are we inside of this spooky castle?"

"Because that's what it's really been."

Everyone looked at JunJun when they heard this given reason.

"This place was designed to take control of all of your minds. But for your guy friends, they must be really powerful since it didn't affect them. But for you and your other friend it worked. This castle wasn't really a mansion. It's just all an illusion that our Queen created to keep you guys as her slaves."

"You mean... how gorgeous it looked with the gold wallpaper and tall windows... it was just all a trick?" Luchia queried in stupefaction.

"Yep," answered PallaPalla.

* * *

The wearer of the tiger striped pants knew that in about 5 hours his leader's circus performance would commence, but still Tigerseye wanted to ask Queen Nehelenia about a specific topic; it was in fact about VesVes.

Weeks before Hawkseye, Fisheye, and him were ordered to capture Ranma and their Queen's other three captives, Tigerseye and VesVes had broken up after another one of their stupid arguments. After some time, Tigerseye started blaming himself, not remembering how the dispute had even began.

But in his heart and mind, the circus boy had made up that he wanted to give it another shot with VesVes. Of course he knew she wouldn't be ready. But he still felt it necessary to inform her; that he still cared about her.

And so earlier today, he'd heard somewhere in the medieval town outside of Nehelenia's circus tent that the Amazoness Quartet were replaced by the same individuals him and his friends kidnapped. Tigerseye grew upset when he learned of that. It were almost as if Nehelenia thought of him as an idiot and could command him to do just about anything she wanted.

After telling Fisheye and Hawskeye about her evil scheme, they also became peeved with the Dead Moon Empress.

Somehow he would plot revenge on this, but he didn't formulate the plan he'd wanted to yet.

First Tigerseye decided to try entering Nehelenia's throne room and approach the dark-haired woman in a casual manner, Hawkseye and Fisheye standing at each of his sides.

"Your Highness..." Tigerseye started with a elegant bow. "There's something that I want to ask you."

"Yes, and what would that be, Tigerseye?" asked Nehelena while resting her slender arms on both armchairs.

"Those 4 kids that you asked us to capture... they're your new performers for the circus tonight, aren't they?"

As Tigerseye said this, his eyes filled with seriousness. He along with his friends noticed the astounded expression on Nehelenia's face. Her plan wasn't meant to be figured out by anyone, but at this point she realized it had to pass; not like they had the power to stop it anyhow.

The Amazon Trio kept their stern looks, becoming and feeling the least bit afraid of their leader's reaction.

But Nehelenia only pushed out a light chuckle then exhaled after ward.

"And so what if they are?" she retorted in a confident tone. "People grew tired of the Amazoness Quartet, so I'm giving them something different."

"You're getting rid of people who actually love their job with people who don't even belong here," Tigerseye replied with bluntness in his voice.

"Oh? Is that really how the man and his friends who did the kidnapping for me feel?"

These remarks of her servants only left Nehelenia amused. No one who thought they could ruin her plans stood a chance.

At any moment, she could have the Amazon Trio beheaded for their harsh insult, but they were the only servants she had.

Mainly Tigerseye growled in frustration while clenching his fists and narrowing his eyes at his leader. She were going ballistic and needed to be stopped.

For another moment Tigerseye couldn't sit still, so he motioned Hawkseye and Fisheye to leave the room to think of a plan.

When the door closed behind them, Nehelenia propped an elbow on her armchair to rest her head and a smirk formed on her lips. She was aware to her minions creating a plan, but it wouldn't come to pass; Nehelenia would see to it that it didn't.


	4. Chapter 4

_**(A/N: The lyrics from Mermaid Melody aren't owned by me. I give thanks to the creator of this anime and song, and to the other three animes that are included.**_**_)

* * *

_**

**_-Dead Moon Circus Episode Four-_**

**_Sheer Revenge! And Potential Farewells!_**

After constant planning, the time for Nehelenia's extravagant circus show finally arrived. Outside the giant moon and its thousand of stars twinkled in unison. Citizens who wanted to see the cicus had to pay their way in and find seats in the many rows of wooden bleachers.

Inside the circus itself, a water tank were set up in the middle of the dirt circle, otherwise known as the circus ring. This was prepared for Ranma to jump into so he could alter his genders, and so Luchia could transform into a beautiful mermaid and begin singing. Inuyasha only needed for the moon's shining light to make contact with his body, so Nehelenia ordered a hole at the top of the circus tent to be made for that certain purpose. Obviously Launch didn't needed anything except a substance that would make her sneeze.

Also set up in the room was a giant lamp built in the top center of the tent to shine on whoever the performer were. It was bright enough to cover everything inside of the curcis ring.

All of the commoners and townsfolk chose their seats while Nehelenia sat in a ebony leather throne on the far side opposite of them. Not only were she excited because of the performance itself, but the Queen also wondered just how the Amazon Trio would go about their possible scheme. Them attempting to to that meant they were underestimating Nehelenia, and she wasn't a woman to be taken lightly.

The crowd of spectators began chattering amongst themselves while waiting for the announcer of the show to appear. Nehelenia had decided that today it would be Hawkseye's turn.

Ranma, Inuyasha, Luchia Launch, and the Amazoness Quartet all stood in a circle inside the dark hallway that would lead to the circus ring. They were going over their plan for a final time so everyone would be sure on what exactly to do.

VesVes used this opportunity to stand as close as possible to Ranma. It made him act cautious, so for most of the time he looked at the crimson girl to make sure she didn't touch him.

"Alright, so does everyone remember the plan?" queried JunJun.

"Yep!" answered PallaPalla.

JunJun looked at the rest of her accomplices to get a clear response. They'd all nodded their heads in full agreement.

"Yeah! We're ready whenever you guys are," Luchia spoke for Launch and herself as both girls smiled with assurance.

A grin formed along JunJun's lips as she placed a hand on her hip. They would be able to have sweet revenge on their leader, meanwhile help the ruler's chosen prisoners be set free. It would all happen soon, and nothing would stop them from moving forward.

"Alright then! Let's -"

Before she could finish her sentence, JunJun jumped a bit and turned around to see who touched her shoulder. It surprised everyone else to discover who it turned out to be. Already Inuyasha and Ranma could feel their developed anger for the individuals rise.

"You three!" Inuyasha clenched his teeth while his eyes filled with irritation.

Of course Tigerseye and the others knew they would recieve this sort of reaction, but they came with great news.

"Calm down, boy," Hawkseye stepped from behind Tigerseye to stand in front of Inuyasha. "We're here to tell you all that we'll be helping you to take down the Queen."

"What?"

Ranma had to be dreaming or what the cyan-haired woman had said were true. How kidnappers could swap sides in such a quick manner the 17-year old didn't know. The rest of Ranma's comrades didn't understand it either.

VesVes walked from out of the formed circle and up to Tigerseye.

"What's got you so anxious to help out? You three are the Queen's personal servants," the circus girl affirmed with her arms crossed and a bothered frown.

"So? That doesn't mean anything. And besides..."

VesVes found a new warm smile appearing on Tigerseye's face, and he'd neared it closer to her face, startling her in the process."

"When they fire my girl from her job, that's when I get upset."

"Ugh! Get over yourself, Tigerseye. We've been through for about 2 weeks," VesVes huffed with her arms still folded then headed towards Ranma. Her sisters bulged their eyes in surprisement. They didn't think this was how VesVes still thought of Tigerseye after the depressing breakup. Ranma and his group were completely unaware as sweatdrops appeared on each of their heads.

Tigerseye grew annoyed when he noticed VesVes wrap an arm around Ranma's and make a toothed grin about it. The veins popping out of his skin, loud growling, or deep blush of anger couldn't be helped.

Ranma saw where this scene was going and quickly tried brushing VesVes away from him.

"L-let go of me!"

"Hey, loverboy! This isn't the time to be fighting over a girl," Fisheye told Tigerseye.

Tigerseye knew this was correct. He'd deal with this new boyfriend of VesVes's later. In the meantime, they had a Queen to vanquish.

"Fine... but after this is all over, you and me, pigtail, in front of this tent outside," Tigerseye narrowed a pair of cold eyes at Ranma's.

Ranma was used to this sort of thing, but he didn't let it bother him. He'd saved his battle power to use on the blond idiot anyway.

An awkward silence arose with the exception of the crowd's noise outside. VesVes had let go of Ranma's arm and was staring with a serious face at him. She didn't feel it necessary for Ranma to fight when already she decided not to take Tigerseye back.

Finally Hawkseye broke the dull moment by walking up to Ranma and parting his lips to speak.

"In a few seconds I'm needed in that circus ring to announce who comes out. And when I do, you play dumb as if you don't hear me. Just go along with what I say, then jump into the crowd and from there follow my lead. Got it?"

Ranma wasn't prepared to recieve these sudden orders, and from someone who kidnapped him. But this plan would benefit to the idea he developed with the Amazoness Quartet. He remained hesitant to responding, but eventually decided it would all work out in the end; he'd have to get over the fact that he despised Hawkseye along with the older male's allies.

"Yeah."

And so Hawkseye walked away from the group and outside to start is duty.

The crowd's voices turned into cheers when they noticed him. Finally the show they'd waited for and hear pleasant stories about would commence. Hawkseye's friends and new accomplices kept their faces in the shadow of the hallway while starting to combine their plans.

Nehelenia also grew interested to see how Hawkseye would begin. Those servants of hers... having became so rebellious and niave.

"Ladies and gentlemen! Welcome, and we hope you enjoy this year's batch of circus performers! To start off the great night, we'll have... Ranma Saotome!"

After this was annouced, the audience clapped and raised the volume by a lot in the enormous room. Ranma's appearance was wanted. Even after about 8 seconds they cheered. Queen Nehelenia suspected this were all apart of their futile plan. She remained in her royal chair, expecting to see a mere attempt. Ranma not appearing at the given time must have been all apart of the plan.

The crowd's noises came to a close, as they wondered where the star of the show were. Hawkseye did his best to act confused and look over to the hallway that Ranma were supposed to come out of.

"I said... to start off the great night, we'll have Ranma Saotome! Hello?"

Nehelenia could hear different voices from the audience complain and groan in she became upset, dragging her sharp nails along the arms of her chair while clenching her teeth. If destroying her fame were the plan, then Ranma and those other fools picked the wrong Queen to annihilate. Of course she knew they were up to no good, but this was perposterous!

"Ranma! Ranma Saotome? Please, it's time for your act," Hawkseye informed with sarcasm.

The way their plan was going pleased everyone. Ranma smirked as he made his way into the circus ring but headed towards the wooden bleachers.

"Ohh, I don't think so," Ranma replied, adding sarcasm to his voice. "You'll have to catch me first."

People in the crowd gasped as they watched Ranma leap towards them then race towards the top to stand there.

Nehelenia kept still to see just what the boy would accomplish by this. If they tried anything foolish she would take care of them herself.

Continuing on with their plan, Hawkseye also stepped towards the audience.

"Very well then! I guess I'll try to capture you then!" Hawkseye declared, then spewing fiery copper and yellow flames from his mouth.

His intention was to aim it at the section of circus tent behind Ranma, and that's just how it resulted. Ranma acted evasive and let the flames do their work. Men and women from the screaming audience rose from their seats and in a frantic manner rushed for the exit. Ranma landed on the ground beside the water tank and watched the flames devour the tent's fabric.

This was exactly the type of idea Nehelenia didn't want to have occur.

The moment she rose from her seat, Luchia hurried out from the hallway towards the water tank, climbed its ladder, than leapt off the diving board and into the water to turn into a mermaid. Everyone including Ranma and Hawkseye couldn't help but become speechless and stand amazed at Luchia's sudden alternation. So not only was her talent singing, but she could also turn into a mermaid. Luchia became more gorgeous, with shining pigtails that reached her ankles, innocent cerulean pupils, roseate mermaid costume, and most importantly her seashell necklace.

No wonder Nehelenia wanted this girl captured. To the Amazon Trio and Amazoness Quartet it made sense now, but still they needed to help set the young child free.

"PINK PEARL VOICE!"

Luchia closed her eyes as the ornament around her neck opened and its smallish pearl gave off a sudden luminary glow. The water inside the tank became entirely pink because of its power.

In a matter of seconds, Luchia reappeared in her trademark pose with a eye wink and microphone in hand.

'Wow... Luchia is so lovely when she's a mermaid,' thought Launch, wondering how the younger girl obtained this unique ability.

Fisheye or the Amazoness Quartet couldn't help but think about the same thing.

Because beauty was one of her goals, Nehelenia could feel herself beginning to envy Luchia. But then she pushed it to the back of her mind and regained her compsure.

'Hm. Her beauty is nothing compared to mine.'

Nehelenia frowned as it was difficult to get rid of those same thoughts and returned to walking towards the water tank. Disposing of Luchia would help ease her mind and help reassure that she were the only beauty to ever live.

"Pichi Pichi Voice, Live Start!"

Right away, Luchia started singing. Nehelenia was unaware of the power it contained, so she continued forward. Ranma and Hawkseye remained still, awaiting the for rest of their plan.

_"Star Light! __If you gather more light,_  
_you can surely change this world..."_

VesVes tried her best to make Luchia sneeze by waving a batch of dirt that rested in her palm. This was the only thing her and the others could think of. fortunately, after 3 seconds, Launch was struggling not to let a sneeze out. She didn't know or wasn't informed why this had to take place.

Soon the sneeze took over her body, and her cruel side appeared.

The next to happen was Launch entering the circus ring with her same pistols in each hand. She happened to find Nehelenia approaching towards Luchia and progressed with her given plan to shoot her bullets into random directions. At this point, the members of the audience really wanted to leave, only upsetting Nehelenia even more.

_"Even the depths of the dark seas lie in the wind ahead, but_  
_if you never... let go of my hand..."_

Nehelenia motioned to chasing after Launch and attack her, but her instincts told her to look right and see a rope flying towards her. It'd came at such a rapid speed that she didn't have time to dodge it. It wrapped around her, meanwhile the same sort of weapon came from her left. It was the doing of Tigerseye and VesVes. Together they grinned in victory while holding both rods to their whips. After ward, CereCere gave input by unleashing millions of varying flowers and covering Nehelenia in them.

This teamwork wasn't to be expected.

The Dead Moon Queen grunted, trying her best to squeze from the tight bonds. She looked at both her servant and VesVes with a shocked expression.

"Traitors! Let me out of these contraptions!"

Nehelenia didn't recieve a response but only a chance to hear more of Luchia's cutesy lyrics.

_"Our dreams can begin in a super live concert!"_

By now all of the citizens had escaped from the circus tent. Meanwhile the flames had reached the middle of its ceiling, but Ranma and the gang's plan wasn't quite finished.

_"On a stage of light and shadows._  
_With our super songs, we"ll convey our love_  
_and give everyone a little bit of courage... in this song of love."_

It was in truth becoming more difficult for VesVes and Tigerseye to hold onto the grip. Luchia wasn't finished with the song. Fisheye, JunJun, and PallaPalla were ready for their segment of the plan. Launch ran out of ammunition from both of her guns and joined Ranma and Hawkseye's side.

_"Star Light!_  
_If you believe in yourself more_  
_You should surely be able to change your future._  
_In this frozen world, despite being alone at dawn_  
_and having a small body, you wont lose."_

'Come on, little girl! Keeping her tied isn't getting any easier,' Tigerseye thought while gazing at Luchia.

_"Love in your right hand can be felt in the super live concert!_  
_On the stage of tears and sweat._  
_Just continue singing, Super Girls!_  
_And the world will become connected with your feelings."_

Luchia's song was more than halfway over.

Nehelenia could hear the sound of something rolling along the ground; a item large at that. She looked back and happened to see JunJun, Fisheye, and PallaPalla walking on top of a giant green ball.

In unison, the female trio stuck out their tongues at the Queen, angering her to a further extent. They were approaching her closer and closer.

_"Even the depths of the dark seas lie in the wind ahead, but_  
_if you never... let go of my hand_  
_Our dreams can begin in a super live concert!_  
_On a stage of light and shadows."_

What their motives were became obvious. Quickly, Nehelenia hurried to breaking free from the sets of whips. Both VesVes and Tigerseye grew startled as they found themselves tugging harder at the grip they'd worked so hard to obtain. But to their dissatisfaction, Nehelenia ruined the trap, made CereCere's flowers slip off her body, then roll out of JunJun's way in the nick of time, landing face-first and the filthy ground.

_"With our super songs, we"ll convey our love_  
_and give everyone a little bit of courage... in this song of love."_

Luchia's accomplices weren't phased for any longer because her song was near to being finished.

With dirt caked on her ravishing face, Nehelenia rose from the ground and placed a hand to her chest in relief. If they wanted to kill her, then she wouldn't hesitate to do the same to them. Again the villianous woman began towards Luchia will everyone else waited patiently.

_"Love in your right hand can be felt in the super live concert!_  
_On the stage of tears and sweat._  
_Just continue singing, Super Girls!_  
_And the world will become connected with your feelings."_

Nehelenia could tell this were the end of the song; the perfect time for her death.

But for some reason, she heard Luchia speak more words.

"LOVE SHOWER, PITCH!"

Suddenly a series of magical hearts came forth from Luchia and headed for Nehelenia. When they made contact with her, it felt painful; this was some kind of attack.

"AAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHH!"

The Dead Moon Queen fell to her knees and clutched onto her head for support, experiencing a great deal of damage. Now she wouldn't hold anything back against Luchia once she got up from the ground.

By the time Nehelenia removed her arms from her head and looked, Ranma, Launch, and Inuyasha all stood in front of her. She didn't bother to think about this happening. Now it seemed she didn't have any choice but give in and surrender.

The heroic trio each grinned, realizing they had the upper hand from the beginning. It just needed teamwork was all.

"Are you boys ready ta' pound her face in?" asked Launch, cracking her knuckles on both hands.

"You bet!" answered Inuyasha, pulling his Tesiaga from its sheath. "Now you can get a chance to see how we all felt when you had us kidnapped."

Ranma motioned to cracking his knuckles like Launch. Then he changed into his fighting stance.

Nehelenia wasn't prepared to see her demise, but the villain admitted that she were out numbered. And her body still felt queasy from Luchia's singing.

"This is for trappin' us inside of cages!" hollered Launch.

Launch had sent her foot into Nehelenia's waist and sent her flying a few feet towards the wall. Blood could be seen trickling down the corner of her mouth. She wiped it but had trouble standing to her feet. Then before the empress realized, Ranma approached her with clenched fists.

"This is for usin' us as replacements!" The martial artist made sure to focus all of his energy into this single technique. "CHESTNUTS ROASTIN' ON AN OPEN FIRE!"

The punches Ranma threw into Nehelenia's stomach were too quick for even Inuyasha to view one at a time. Everyone gawked at this mysterious fighting ability. In the back of his mind, Tigerseye found himself more interested to fight Ranma.

"Hmm..." the long haired man smirked in a curious manner.

Soon Ranma's attack had finished. He backed away from the kneeling Nehelenia to let Inuyasha have his turn.

The half-demon held his sword in front of him with both hands. He narrowed his eyes on Nehelenia and concentrated his power into nothing but the edged blade. Eventually white energy could be seen spiraling around Inuyasha's weapon. And at each passing moment the energy grew bigger in size, making Tigerseye grow more eager.

Inuyasha was then seen raising his sword above his head. "And this for the comment about my ears! WIND SCAR!"

When the 15-year old swung his weapon, golden streaks emerged from it and flew towards the ground. It rippled through, creating long cracks in the ground as it headed towards Nehelenia.

So this was how it felt to be outnumbered... in the beginning, Nehelenia behaved so determined and prideful. The ruler believed that she would stay beautiful. She believed her idea of hiring new circus performers would bring her more wealth. Now all of that seemed to disappear. At different points her life, people told her she were acting big-headed and overconfident, but of course Nehelenia didn't listen. Now she would have something to worry about more than looking hideous: not being alive to have others give her their attention and money.

She yelped in horrifying pain once Inuyasha's Wind Scar touched her. Each blast ripped her flesh like paper, distorting her once charming face. Everyone turned away and covered their eyes from the luminance created by Inuyasha's move, but he remained still and watched Nehelenia suffer. This was the sort of revenge he'd wanted.

* * *

Thanks to Hawkseye's fire, Nehelenia's entire circus tent with everything inside it had burned to a crisp within the next 20 minutes. As its light reflected and caused a gleam to show in their eyes, everyone stood in a line watching the fire crackle and spread until its embers died.

Other few citizens had watched, but were more concerned of how this situation would turn out. Now their town didn't have a Queen. But the Amazon Trio and Amazoness Quartet didn't care. In fact, they'd each decided that starting fresh new lives in the tropical Amazon Forest was a better idea than staying in the city and dealing with questions about Nehelenia's demise. However, there came the fight Tigerseye declared of having with Ranma.

They stood face to face still in front of the tent while everyone else watched on the sidelines.

VesVes knew this was pointless. Not only because Ranma declined, but since he couldn't stay. The only reason she grabbed onto his arms was to make Tigerseye jealous; to feel bad for their rough past. But now was the perfect time to say something.

So before Ranma or Tigerseye could throw a punch, VesVes found herself jumping in between them with her arms extended.

"Tigerseye! Don't fight him! There's no reason for you to do it now that he has to return home..."

As this left everyone speechless, VesVes's eyes started to water. Her intention of hurting Tigerseye had reached an end. Whether she liked it or not, she had to accept the reality and treat him with nuetral respect.

Tigerseye wouldn't have held anything back, but because the woman he cared most for spoke, he put his hands down and became guilty. The way VesVes spoke illustrated him as if he were the atagonist, when he really he just wanted her back. "Fine..."

Ranma was glad that Tigerseye decided otherwise. Him and his other three acquaintances still needed to get home.

It was decided that Fisheye would deliver Launch and Luchia while Hawkseye escorted Inuyasha and Ranma back to their homelands.

Luchia took a look at each of them and smiled. In so little time, they still acted and could be a team. Launch also smiled with the same thing on her mind.

"You guys..." Luchia walked up to Inuyasha and Ranma with clasped hands. "I know that we have to go and probably won't see each other again, but I just wanna say... thanks for everything. I hope I meet more friends like you two."

"Because you two learned to get along we made it out of this. If it weren't for you guys, we'd be trapped in that horrible castle. Have a safe trip getting back home, alright?" Launch added.

Niether Ranma or Inuyasha were the type to act soft, but they looked at each other then returned tiny smiles to both girls. It was true, over the time spent in Nehelenia's clutches, they developed a nuetrality without realizing it.

The Amazoness Quartet watched this scene further and were pleased. In their minds, each girl were probably 'awwing'.

"Don't worry, we will," Inuyasha responded to Launch.

After that was finished, Fisheye and Hawkseye unleashed portals to take each group in. Everyone made sure to give their goodbyes, except for Tigerseye. He'd said that he would leave to go and take a walk. While he paced away, VesVes watched him leave. For someone who'd got dumped, Tigerseye sure was being emotional about it.

* * *

The Amazoness Quartet started to make their way through the medieval town and towards its entrance to leave. VesVes still wondered about where Tigerseye actually went, but she didn't bother bringing it up to her siblings.

It wasn't until they all walked past another house did PallaPalla part her lips.

"Soo, VesVes, what are you going to do now that Ranma is gone?"

Because PallaPalla were the quiet girl in their group, everyone placed surprised faces on her. Just why did she want to talk about this specific subject?

JunJun and CereCere took this as a time to add input.

"Yeah, now that he IS gone, are you gonna give Tigerseye another chance?" JunJun smirked.

"You know, sister," CereCere began with her gentle voice. "If you decide not to get back with him I can give it a shot."

"CereCere!"

Everything grew quiet once VesVes placed a glare on the flower girl while they continued walking.

"What, I'm just joking. You don't have to so upset," a light chuckle slipped from CereCere's mouth.

The sooner they got to Amazon Forest the better. Ever since she'd left Tigerseye, this situation always aroused from VesVes's sisters. Maybe if she had went into detail about why they split up, then things wouldn't be like they are. But VesVes didn't feel like getting into it because of how long ago it had occurred.

She tried keeping calm by balling up her fists to keep from slapping anyone. For her, she was experiencing more stress than any of her sisters could have imagined, but they insisted with talking about Tigerseye.

Finally VesVes's expression changed from annoyed to relaxed.

"Well?" JunJun spoke. "Which one is it? Ranma DID have to return home..."

VesVes learned that by leaving her sisters in sheer wonder, she wouldn't have to openly admit to either taking back Tigerseye or never choosing to at all; plus it entertained her to see how JunJun and the others struggled with their anxiety.

"Wait... so you are getting back with him?" asked PallaPalla. "Or is your breakup permanent?"

"You heard her! Either you want him or you don't!" JunJun stated in minor frustration.

Instead of responding, VesVes continued along the pavement with the others beside her, asking her the same sort of question and becoming irritated. And this was how she wanted it to stay.


End file.
